A mix of nutty Burley and rich Virginia tobaccos made user friendly by the Turkish, Perique, and Latakia. A lovely balance of sweet, spicy, & smokey. Button Bay packs easily with few relights. A "Very English" blend.

This blend has it all: it's lovely nutty (high quality Burley),subtle sweet (VA), delicious spicy (Turkish and Perique), and pleasant smoky. Just fantastic. Top quality smoke from begin till end of bowl. Burns very well (but not fast), no relights (just some tampering now and then) and leaves nothing more than a very small amount of fine white dust. Very, very recommended!

Damn this stuff smells good in the pouch. Unlit taste is familiar, but very sweet compared to your standard fare English/Balkan. There is a fruity sweetness that is similar to a cavendish-added English, but not as strong as Northwoods or American Patriot - more subtle like Dunhill's MyMixture 956. There is a heavy, heady richness in the smell as well - a smokey and savory element to the latakia (quite sparing in this blend) and oriental, respectively.

Mouthfeel of the smoke is very rich. It takes quite a bit of work to taste the sum of the parts here, they are balanced quite well. If I could try to related the most predominant tobacco, I'd say Oriental makes it's presence known first, but there is some sweet/sour (caramel green apple) in there, muted just enough by a breadlike note. As I mentioned Latakia seems to be a good condiment to the Orientals, just to make it familiar. Snork and the "post smoke" taste in my mouth reveal some spice, but as with the latakia it's just peppered (heh) in there (compared to a blend with similar components, say C&D's Epiphany, that is quite aggressive with perique).

As the bowl warms up through midbowl, the savory flavors border on almost salty, there is an underlying sweetness as well.

This is not a "bomb" of any specific tobacco. It's a complex, yet mild and completely unoffensive smoke to this fan of the English and Balkan varieties. Balanced, and very rich on the tongue. Savory upfront, but with a very subtle sweetness throughout. Room note is bready, a little musty. Very little of the "burned tire" complaint I get from the wife when smoking a lat heavy blend.

You know I can't leave a review without a food comparison... here goes: Caraway-seeded Rye bread, left in a bag with a cut green apple just enough to collect a whiff of sweet and sourness, and eaten with a thin wedge of smoked cheddar of no insignificant aging that has no more than two cracks of fresh black pepper.

Nicotine did pack a bit of a wallop. Got a bad case of hiccups towards the end. Don't care, totally worth it.

This is a very enjoyable smoke. Smoky, earthy, nutty, sweet, and spicy. The Burley is the star here and it's of very high quality. I do wish though that it had been applied with a slightly lighter hand. It masks the other components to a small extent. It's still a great smoke though. Medium in body. Medium to full in flavor. 3+ stars.

Got this as a sample from the fine folks at 4noggins.com. I am a fan of several of their blends, and admittedly had very high expectations.

Packed this into my new Peterson Aran and sat down with my morning coffee. At first, I didn't quite get it, but as a relatively new pipe smoker, my palate may not be as attuned as other more experienced smokers, so I gave it some time. Here we go:

Stuck my nose in the bag and breathed in the wonderful nutty, smoky, spicy aroma.

Lights and burns well--a nice cool smoke. At first puff, I didn't quite know what to think or what I was tasting--perhaps the coffee had dulled my senses?

After a few minutes, the flavor came out in a big way. A present but not overpowering hardwood smokiness. A peppery spiciness noted by another reviewer as being too strong, but which I find gives the smoke great character without burying the sweeter undertones. With each draw, I can taste the contributions of the Turkish, Perique, Burley, and Latakia.

About half way through the bowl, the flavors come into a very elegant balance--the peppery overtones seem to have mellowed a bit revealing a creamy, sweet smokiness. I smoked this to the bottom of the bowl, leaving little more than a fine white ash.

Rich provided me with a generous sample at no charge when I placed my latest order--it will surely not last me long though, and it looks like I will be placing another order with 4noggins sooner than expected. Their fine blends and excellent customer care are why 4noggins has become my go-to tobacconist.

After a few more bowls, I will revisit this review and perhaps bump it up to 4 stars. My students will tell you I'm a hard grader, but I think that in the end this blend will really earn an A.

9/29/10 Just ordered an additional half pound from Rich. I'm bumping this up to four stars. This is now one of my go to morning smokes. Thoroughly enjoyable.

I'm singing with the chorus:good,inexpensive and addictive tobacco! Mr.Gottlieb do it different,without doubt. Beautiful bits of tobacco leaf are floating in there;how the blender come to such a result is beyond mewhenever I finished a bowl,I want more! Bravo!

This blend shines in its subtleness of taste and aroma. Pulled a jar from my cabinet this evening that's been sealed up for a year. Wonderful sweet-nutty aroma upon opening. Easy to light, and smoke to the bottom of the bowl. Hints of sweetness, hardwood smoke and a touch of spice lingering on my tongue and in the air around me. A very mild-richness, and pleasant from start to finish - easily an all day smoke. Thank you 4noggins for yet another truly enjoyable blend. Highly recommended.

The description given by the house, reflects exactly what I think of this mixture. Rich knows his work is without doubt, to create a mixture that much English, so smooth, so easy to smoke, what satisfaction! Truly, my compliments! Recommend it to anyone!

I am a fan of Carter Hall. There, I've said it. In the winter months I like to add a little smokiness and spice, so I ordered some Button Bay because it had distinctive reviews, and mixed it about 1/3 to 2/3 Carter Hall. Tastes really good on a winter day.

I find that even with this blend being overly dried out that it remains pretty much what I have written below. The only thing that has happened is that it has mellowed out to be barely smokeable. This will be going into the trash bin presently. Original review: After smoking several pipes of this blend, I find that it is too much on the spicy/peppery side for my taste. It simply overpowers the smoking experience. I am very surprised because I have another blend from the fine folks of 4noggins.com that is simply wonderful. Maybe it needs to be aged a little more to settle it down. I shall re-visit this in a month or so to see how it is then.